Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It seems that no one has a good way to sex budgett frogs except that they know the females are larger then the males. I heard that the males have black nuputal pads on there back feet, is this correct? I really want to get a female and I would like to be able to figure out this puzzle.

thanks
Greg

Hmm, they do have axillary amplexus so you can tell males by the nuptial pads.
The problem with sexing by nuptial pads is that the pads are only visible in sexually mature males. In other words, if it has nuptial pads it is a male but the absence of pads could mean it is a male or a female.

If you have a vet you trust. you can anesthetize a number of frogs and check them for vocal pouches. I know this works for sexing bufonids out of the breeding season (from personal experience) but I do not know if this would work for Budgetts but I think it is worth a try.
Ed

At what size do the males get there nuptual pads? So if im looking at an unsexed budgetts i could tell if it should have the pads by that size.

Sorry I guess I wasn't clear enough. Nuptial pads are only present when the male is in breeding condition and is ready to breed. This is why it can be hard to use nuptial pads to sex the frogs. If a frog has nuptial pads it is a male but a frog without nuptial pads can be a male or a female.
This is why I suggested checking for the vocal sac as males will have these regardless of breeding condition (at least once they are sexually mature) while females will not.

Ed